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NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
Seismometer Simulation Software (SEISim) is written to provide a simulation for the seismometer instrument in the Insight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy, and Heat Transport) mission so that flight software developers can use it to develop and test their software applications. It can generate science data packets, generate housekeeping data packets, and simulate certain instrument behaviors such as leveling, re-centering, and calibration. It has fault injection capabilities that allow flight software developers to inject faults through SEISim to test their software in various scenarios. It also allows users to run multiple instances of SEISim for batch and overnight testing.

Computational manipulation with solid bodies is improving ISS aeroscience analyses.
Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
Numerical simulations of plume impingement heating to the International Space Station (ISS) and its visiting vehicles require a specific way to represent the space station geometry in 3D. The tools that are used for plume impingement analyses at NASA’s Johnson Space Center — the Reaction Control System (RCS) Plume Model 3D (RPM3D) and Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) Analysis Code (DAC) — need the analysis geometry to be in the form of a triangulated surface mesh and water-tight (no gaps or holes). Until recently, 3D geometries for such analyses had to be generated manually, took a long time, and used very-low-fidelity geometry components, and as a result, the aeroscience analyses in 3D were not very frequent.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
This software allows sizing of submersibles powered by hydraulic generators that are pressurized by ocean thermal gradients at various depths. The software allows the operator to input the fixed size of the vessels containing the phase change material (PCM). The effective expansion of the PCM is also input, along with the phase change heat required and other various solid and liquid parameters. The electromechanical efficiency is also input, and the total power produced is calculated, along with system mass and volumes, and approximate time constant.

Marshall Space Flight Center, Alabama
This invention relates to a fluid film bearing and a process for evaluating pneumatic hammer instability. Based on the stability criteria, a method was developed using 3D CFD (computational fluid dynamics) evaluation dynamics to evaluate the onset of pneumatic hammer instability in a fluid-film bearing. The pneumatic hammer instability criteria and the 3D CFD evaluation processes are available for use on any programs using bearings operating with a compressible fluid.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
Data science is emerging as a critical area of research and technology to advance scientific discovery, knowledge, and decision-making through systematic computational approaches to analyzing massive data sets. The sheer volume of data increase, coupled with the highly distributed and heterogeneous nature of scientific data sets, is requiring new approaches to how the data will be ultimately managed and analyzed. This requires evaluating the scalability and distribution of complex software architectures. DAWN (Distributed Analytics, Workflows and Numeric) is a model for simulating the execution of data processing workflows on arbitrary data system architectures. DAWN was developed to provide NASA and the scientific community at large with an additional tool to prepare for the upcoming Big Data deluge in science.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
Auxiliary Payload Sensor System Simulation Software (APSSim) provides a simulation of the seismometer used in the Insight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy, and Heat Transport) mission. The software takes recorded or simulated APSS data as an input, preprocesses the input data, and generates APSS data packets. The software also has fault injection capabilities that enable flight software developers to inject faults from the APSSim to test their software in various scenarios. It also allows users to run multiple instances of APSSim for batch and overnight testing. It gives the user a tool to thoroughly test their applications in a way that cannot be done otherwise.

This modeling approach can be used in designing lighter, more compact, and more efficient actuators and control systems.The requirements for advanced aircraft engine components lead to designs that are more lightweight and efficient, yet more susceptible to excessive vibration, complex dynamic behavior, and uncertain durability and reliability. This complex nature of the dynamic behavior also leads to thicker blade designs; hence, increased fuel burn, increased noise, potentially reduced engine life, and increased maintenance costs. As part of the NASA Aeronautics Research Fixed Wing (FW) Project, Glenn Research Center has been investigating potential technologies that support the FW goals for lighter, quieter, and more efficient aircraft.

Question of the Week

This week's Question: In recent years, hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested into space ventures. SpaceX, an advanced spacecraft manufacturer founded by Elon Musk, has completed more than 30 successful launches since 2006, delivered...